Cozy Corner Books

Perfect for dipping into, these four collections offer the experience of great fiction without the commitment that a novel requires. If you’re in need of an excellent read for the lazy weeks that lie ahead, check out the selections below.

PORTRAITS OF HUMAN NATURE
Dark humorist A.M. Homes taps into the contemporary American mindset and our obsession with perfection in Days of Awe. An irreverent writer, Homes can create a completely realized character in just a few strokes, and her dialogue—chiseled to film-script perfection—is enlivened by rapid-fire exchanges and funny one-liners.

The collection’s excellent title story takes place at a genocide conference, where, among stiff scholars and serious academics, two old acquaintances—a novelist and a war reporter—strike up a romance that almost upends their lives. In “Brother on Sunday,” Tom, a plastic surgeon, injects himself with a Botox-like substance—an action that’s horrifying in its offhandedness. While vacationing with a group of affluent friends, an old feud erupts between him and his brother, disturbing the calm of their getaway. In “Hello Everybody,” Walter visits his wealthy friend Cheryl in her pristine, technologically advanced home. Her family’s fixation on physical flawlessness borders on the satirical—and feels all too familiar.

In these perceptive stories, Homes hits a nerve, offering reflections of who we are and projections of who we might become.

IN A WILD PLACE
Lauren Groff (Arcadia, Fates and Furies) plumbs the mysteries of her home state in the captivating collection Florida. Through arresting imagery and a sustained mood that’s ominous and unsettling, Groff, who lives in Gainesville, delivers a sense of the peninsula’s humid exoticism. Of an old cabin at a hunting camp, she writes, “the screens at night pulsed with the tender bellies of lizards,” and Florida itself is described as a place of “frenzied flora and fauna.” The region’s wild environment infects and affects her characters.

“Ghosts and Empties” features a figure who appears in a number of stories—an anonymous wife and mother who’s worried about the world’s decline and finds relief in walking through her neighborhood at night, where she observes the lives of others through lit windows. In “Dogs Go Wolf,” two young sisters are abandoned on an island and are able to adapt to their rough surroundings—it’s when they’re rescued that hardship begins.

In gorgeous prose, Groff offers startling insight into the human heart. Florida is as mesmerizing as its namesake state.

CALIFORNIA TALES
Set in Los Angeles and its affluent environs, Fight No More, Lydia Millet’s masterful collection of intertwined stories, features characters with conflicting wills and interests who can’t be made to compromise. The undercurrent of friction that results lends a quiet force to stories that explore the challenges of communication and the meaning of home.

Nina, a recurring figure, is a young real estate agent transformed by the prospect of new love. Many of the stories in the book feature her clients—people in various states of transition—and in a phenomenal feat of plot-spinning, Millet links the lives of this disparate group of characters. In “To Think/I Killed a Cat,” 16-year-old Jeremy, caught in the crossfire of his parents’ divorce, does his best to repulse potential purchasers of the family home. In “The Fall of Berlin,” his frail grandmother, Aleska, is forced to sell her beloved house and move into her son’s guest cottage, yet she refuses to surrender to the inevitabilities of old age. “I only want to keep going,” Aleska says. Like the other characters in these richly realized stories, she’s unwilling to give up the fight.

STORIES OF THE MODERN SOUTH
Mississippi author Nick White made a memorable literary debut with How to Survive a Summer, his 2017 novel about a gay-to-straight conversion camp. In his new book, Sweet and Low, an accomplished, atmospheric collection of stories that take place in his native state, White continues to explore the experience of being queer in a conservative culture.

“Gatlinburg” chronicles the unraveling of a romantic relationship involving Reed, a New Yorker, and Eric, a Mississippian. The two have fallen “into something like love” but can’t seem to fully connect, in part because of the North-South disjunction. (When Reed’s mother introduces Eric at a party, she says, “He’s from Mississippi—isn’t that adorable? Just wait till you hear him speak.”) In “The Lovers,” Rosemary knows her husband, Arnie, was having affairs but assumed they were with women. She learns otherwise after Arnie’s tragic death, when she unexpectedly connects with Hank, his last lover. A wonderful sequence of stories centering on would-be writer Forney Culpepper has the makings of a first-rate novel.

An author on the rise, White displays impressive range in this rewarding collection.

Amazon is in the process of discontinuing the entry level Kindle. This is the e-reader is primarily aimed at new users and normally costs $79. Amazon has removed it from the Kindle Family page and the only readers they are marketing is the Paperwhite, Voyage and Oasis.

The entry level Kindle came out in 2014 and has an older E Ink Pearl display, which is really outdated e-paper technology. It has abysmal refresh issues when it comes to page turns and interacting with all of the menus and navigation bar. The Basic Kindle is the oldest digital reader that Amazon has consistently sold for the past four years, and has sold well.

Amazon is likely going to refresh the entry level Kindle and the Paperwhite in the coming weeks. The entry level Kindle will have an E-Ink Carta HD display, which will have the same resolution and PPI as the Kindle Paperwhite. Speaking of the Paperwhite, this device is rumored to have a new color temperature lightning system that is similar to the Nook Glowlight 3 and the Kobo Clara HD. The Paperwhite will also have Bluetooth capability which will allow you to plug in wireless headphones or a speaker to listen to audiobooks from Audible.

Update: Amazon has just added the Basic Kindle to the Family of devices. They never disclosed on why it it was unavailable for a few days or if a new model is coming out soon.

Flexterra and E-Ink have developed a new flexible 6.8 inch e-reader that is in the prototype stage and it should be refined over the course of the next twelve months. Flexterra has developed the backplane for this new device and E Ink the epaper display and internal components.

Flexterra has developed new OTFT system, which stands for “Organic Thin Film Transistor,” and it uses an organic semiconductor and related dielectric layers to form a TFT device. In contrast, a-Si TFT and LTPS TFT both use inorganic semiconductors (Si) to form a TFT device. Flexterra uses OTFT to make the backplane to drive the EPD to form a display module.

Based on the Flexterra Flexible TFTTM material, E Ink has worked with Flexterra to successfully develop and scale up the OTFT process and material for mass production in their G2.5 line for EPD applications. The prototype unit comprises of a 6.8 screen with a resolution of 800×600 and 150 PPI. I was told that higher resolutions are possible, but basically it is now proven that OTFT can be used to drive EPD and achieve similar optical performance as a-Si TFT. Furthermore, the flexible OTFT EPD was found to show better impact resistance than a-Si EPD in a ball-drop test based on bare EPD display without additional protection layers.

This is the first time that E-Ink has formed a relationship with Flexterra, who is a leading supplier of specialty materials to the flexible and printed electronics industry. Born out of over ten years of fundamental research in the chemistry and physics of flexible TFTs, Flexterra Flexible TFT™ technology represents a breakthrough which allows the mass production of flexible, robust high quality transistors for a variety of applications such as displays and sensors. Flexterra is an affiliate company of the SAES group which has been supplying advanced functional materials to the consumer electronics and display industries for over 70 years.

The Kobo Clara HD and Amazon Kindle Paperwhite are two e-readers that cost the same amount of money and have a fair bit in common. The Kobo model has a competitive advantage with its Comfortlight PRO display, which allows you to configure the color temperature of the front-lit display, to mute the bright white light. Can the Clara compete against one of the most popular e-readers in the world with the lighting system alone?

The Clara HD features an E-Ink Carta HD display with a 300 PPI display. The screen is not flush with the bezel, but there is a small dip. There is a USB port and power button on the bottom and the rest of the sides have nothing on them. The back of the Clara has a neat perforated design that makes it easy to hold and a high degree of grip.

Underneath the hood is a 1GHZ Freescale Solo Lite processor, 512MB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. Kobo has suspended expandable storage a few years and there is no Micro SD on the Clara HD. In order to conserve memory you have a number of options in the settings menu to automatically delete books from the device when you are finished reading them and you can do the same thing with Pocket articles. Speaking of Pocket the Kobo experimental browser also has Pocket integration, so you can save Pocket articles directly on the e-reader, instead of exclusively relying on the plugins for Chrome or Firefox.

The Clara HD has a front-lit display that might be one of the best ones Kobo has ever released. It has even light distribution thanks to the 8 white LED’s and the Comfortlight PRO system has 7 orange LED’s. If you turn both the front-lit display and the Comfortlight on, all of the LEDS work in concert and it provides a really bright and vibrant reading experience. The comfortlight has an automatic setting that does not use an ambient light sensor, instead of relies on the time of day and your time zone to automatically configure itself. Auto brightness is optional and can be completely turned off, you don’t need to use it if you don’t want to.

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 3 came out in 2015 and is getting a bit long in the tooth. It has a e-ink Carta display with a resolution of 1430×1080 and 300 PPI. When it comes to the visual aesthetics the new Paperwhite is virtually indistinguishable from the 2nd generation model. The only change on the hardware is very subtle, the Kindle logo on the front is piano black, while the older edition had it in pure white. The retail packaging also makes reference to 300 PPI, so this should aid you if you are looking to buy the latest edition and can’t really tell what model you are looking at.

Underneath the hood is a 1 GHZ processor and 512 MB of RAM. There is 4GB of internal storage and the majority of your content will be held in the cloud. There is certainly enough space to have a thousand ebooks on your device at any given time.

Amazon has a larger bookstore than Kobo and has a wider array of self-published titles. You can also enroll in Kindle Unlimited and get a copious amount of free content with Prime Reading. Amazon has GoodReads integration, which allows you to talk with other readers and assemble reading goals. Amazon also introduced a firmware update that allows you to sideload in your own fonts.

Kobo does not have an unlimited program, but they do have really advanced features. You have always been able to sideload in your fonts and they have slider bars that allow you to manually adjust the line spacing, margins and font size. There are plenty of advanced features that allow you to customize your reading experience on an even deeper level and get a before/after preview of any settings you want to augment. I think the Kobo lighting system is better and more refined than Amazon, so if you read at night, Kobo might be the better solution.

GameStop is getting into the retail comic book business and are conducting a 20 store trial. They will be restocking the shelves weekly with all of the big name titles from Marvel, DC, Image, and Oni Press. If the pilot program is successful they will launch it in all of their stores in Canada and the United States.

According to the company’s statement: “Comics are often a part of our promotional entertainment industry environment, including video games—we can learn from this tribal knowledge. The comics are mostly from Marvel and DC with a focus on key series and titles.” The company’s collectibles business grew by 24 percent during the first quarter, while its overall sales declined by 5.5 percent.

There are over 6,000 GameStop locations and if you have visited any of their locations recently you’ll notice a heavy focus on comic and pop culture collectibles, so single issue comics should synergize well.

The Audie Awards, which celebrate excellence in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment, announced their 2018 winners last Friday. Below are a selection of the winners. Check out the full list of winners and hear clips from the finalists and winners here!

AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR Lincoln in the Bardo
By George Saunders
Read by Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, George Saunders, and a full cast
Random House Audio

AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR Born to Run
Written and read by Bruce Springsteen
Simon & Schuster Audio

‘The Vaccine Race: How Scientists Used Human Cells to Combat Killer Diseases’ by Meredith Wadman is an account of the history, science and ethics of vaccine development in the United States. It primarily concerns the career of American anatomy professor Leonard Hayflick and his quest to find and mass produce the safest human cells for use in vaccines at a time when viruses such as polio and rubella were far more prevalent than they are today.

I reviewed three popular science books on similar topics earlier this year, namely cells and ethics (‘The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks’ by Rebecca Skloot) the provision of vaccines in developing countries (‘The Health of Nations’ by Karen Bartlett) and the history of the 1918 Spanish flu (‘Pale Rider’ by Laura Spinney). As my reading tastes are broad, it’s fair to say that I probably wouldn’t have chosen to read another book on the same topic so soon had ‘The Vaccine Race’ not been shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize which I am shadowing this year. Inevitably, some elements covered in the previous books I have read are also featured in Wadman’s account, notably the Sabin and Salk polio vaccines and HeLa Cells. However, the subject area is so vast that there is also plenty here that was new to me too.

The ethical issues raised by the development of vaccines are numerous and complex. In the mid-20th century, vaccines were often tested on people with learning disabilities, orphans and prisoners, sometimes with devastating consequences when experiments went wrong. The WI-38 cells at the centre of Hayflick’s career and the discovery of the rubella vaccine were taken from the aborted foetus of a Swedish woman known only as Mrs X but he did not seek her permission to do this. Furthermore, a long-running dispute over the ownership of the cells when Hayflick took up a professorship at Stanford University almost ended his career. Wadman’s view of Hayflick and his work is generally favourable – his work led to some of the most important medical discoveries of the century, protecting billions of people and saving countless lives – but it’s also clear that his methods have generated a fair amount of controversy along the way.

‘The Vaccine Race’ is a very dense read and some of the lengthier descriptions of things like the finer points of the biotechnology industry went a bit over my head in places. Overall, the book is probably a little longer than necessary for a layperson and the general trajectory of where the book is going is quite vague and frequently goes off on tangents. However, the ethical debates are fascinating and clearly presented.

Look out for reviews of ‘The Vaccine Race’ and the other Wellcome Book Prize shortlisted books by the other shadow panel members Rebecca, Laura, Annabeland Paul.

Today I’m very pleased to host a Q&A with Richard Lloyd Parry who has been shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize for his brilliant book Ghosts of the Tsunami – one of the best books I read in 2017. It is a narrative non-fiction account about the aftermath of the tsunami which devastated the east coast of Japan on 11th March 2011 and how it impacted a small community where many people lost their lives. I’m very pleased that this riveting book has recently been shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize – a relatively new literary award in which 60 fiction and non-fiction books are nominated by members of the Folio Academy and then whittled down to a shortlist of eight. This year’s list also includes two novels I have read and enjoyed very much: Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney and Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor.

Q&A with Richard Lloyd Parry

1. At what age did you know you wanted to become a writer?

Eighteen. I thought that wanted to direct plays, but brief experience at university made me realise how dependent theatre is on the temperamental peculiarities of other people. I prefer to work alone, or in a small team.

2. Was your first book published or is it still lurking in a drawer somewhere?

Putting aside the work of the teenage years (a sequence of erotic sonnets; a volume of protest songs about Margaret Thatcher), my first book was a travel guide to Japan published in 1995, sadly out of print. Second-hand copies are bought and sold online for handfuls of pounds.

3. What was your favourite childhood book?

Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World.

4. What is your ‘ if you don’t like this, you can’t be my friend’ book?

I’ve lost a small number of friends over the years, but never over a book.

5. Do you find the process of writing agony or ecstasy?

At worst, it’s hard work of a peculiar kind – solving problems that only exist because you have created them for yourself. Moments of hopelessness come, but they eventually pass. I’ve experienced high excitement when writing, but the history of ecstasy suggests that it’s a highly suspect emotion, not conducive to wise decision making.

6. Who, in your opinion is the most under-read author?

If you mean, an author whom people buy, but don’t actually read, then obviously Stephen Hawking. If you mean underrated or under-appreciated, then perhaps Lafcadio Hearn.

7. Who or what have been your most important influences?

My parents. My seven years as a foreign correspondent on ‘The Independent’. ‘Granta’, under the editorships of Bill Buford and Ian Jack.The great Poles, Conrad and Kapuscinski.

8. If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing?

I’d probably be a little lost.

9. How long did it take you to write the book that is shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize?

Something over a year in aggregate, spread, sometimes rather thinly, over six and a half years.

Winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt and recently translated from the French by Sam Taylor, ‘Lullaby’ by Leïla Slimani has been one of the most talked-about novels so far this year, partly inspired by a real-life case of a nanny who killed two children in New York in 2012. Paul and Myriam live in a fashionable area of north-west Paris with their two young children, Mila and Adam. Paul works in the music business and Myriam is a criminal lawyer of North African descent who hires a nanny, Louise, to look after the children when she decides to resume her career. Initially, Louise appears to be perfect and indispensable to the family, but her behaviour becomes increasingly concerning.

Despite the much-hyped “killer nanny” premise typical of a thriller, ‘Lullaby’ is a literary whydunnit. The opening lines mirror those of ‘L’Étranger’ by Albert Camus and reveal the ending from the outset: “The baby is dead. It took only a few seconds. The doctor said he didn’t suffer”. However, what ‘Lullaby’ lacks in plot suspense it more than makes up for in subtle and deceptively complex social commentary surrounding class, gender and race as well as an authentic and unromanticised depiction of contemporary Paris. Casual racism is highlighted when the agency assumes that Myriam is looking for work as a nanny rather than help for her own family. Elsewhere, the career vs. motherhood debate is thoughtfully explored and there is humour in the way that Slimani satirises the pretensions of “bobo” (bourgeois-bohème) Parisians, such as Myriam’s friend who gives her children “unpronounceable names, taken from Nordic mythology, whose meanings she enjoys explaining”.

Many aspects of Louise’s character and background are kept deliberately vague. More questions are raised about her than are definitively answered, but we learn that she has left an abusive husband and the dispute she has had with an exploitative landlord is spiralling out of control. As Louise’s fragile personal life begins to impact her relationship with the family she works for, the dynamic in the household changes rapidly from one where she is adored by all and seen as a reliable saviour to a situation where being “too perfect” suddenly becomes problematic.

The conclusions are ultimately ambiguous – Louise is not fully excused for her actions but neither are Paul and Myriam portrayed as one-dimensional villains. There are also no easy answers to the question of whether a nanny should be considered part of the family or treated as an employee. Instead, context proves to be key and Slimani skilfully uses a provocative and sensational premise to subtly explore the underlying issues raised here. The result is a chilling novel which really gets under the skin.

If you’re an author trying to get published or just a book enthusiast, chances are, you’re always on the lookout for great book blogs, book review blogs, and online discussions about everything from up-and-coming authors to publishing industry news. Dive into our list of the 18 best book blogs to read in 2018.

1. Book Marketing Tools

Book Marketing Tools aims to help writers enter the world of self-publishing. They help authors become better marketers and, ultimately, sell more books. Their blog offers a lot of great insights and tips for new and seasoned authors.

2. The Book Designer

This hugely popular book blog, written by Joel Friedlander—who’s worked in the publishing and design industries—strives to help people get their story out there. The Book Designer features more than 1,550 articles on everything from writing and editing to publishing and marketing your work, all from the perspectives of people who are actually in the book industry.

3. Bustle Books

The book section of Bustle provides everything you want to see, know, or read in the world of books. The blog updates often—as much as 14 or 15 times a day—while maintaining a high quality of posts and covering a wide range of topics, including entertaining lists, reviews of new releases, and tips for finding writing inspiration.

4. Omnivoracious

Great blog name aside, Omnivoracious is Amazon’s official (and must-read) book review blog. With a minimalist and eye-catching design that focuses on books, author interviews, and industry news, this is one book blog that keeps its readers up to date on all aspects of the publishing world. Unlike other, genre-specific blogs, Omnivoracious reviews titles ranging from kids’ books and comics to lifestyle and suspense—and everything in between.

5. Brain Pickings

Brain Pickings is just that—thoughts and views picked from the brain of author Maria Popova. Topics range from science to literature to anthropology, but all topics are rooted in creativity. It is a thoughtful, substantial blog that all readers and writers will enjoy.

6. The New York Review of Books

With a list of contributors that reads like a who’s who of the literature and journalistic worlds, The New York Review of Books is the intellectual’s book review blog. Filled with literature reviews, intriguing think pieces, and intelligent cultural articles, this blog both informs and inspires.

7. Tara Lazar

This one’s for the kids! And by kids we mean children’s book authors (who, let’s face it, make a living embracing their inner children). Tara Lazar’s book blog is a popular resource for anyone wanting to write, or currently writing, children’s fiction. Articles include advice on writing for different age groups, book design, and publishing. The website also features Storystorm (previously known as Picture Book Idea Month), a fantastic take on NaNoWriMo aimed at developing great literature for kids.

8. Helping Writers Become Authors

Helping Writers Become Authors is written for writers by a published writer, and it focuses on author mentorship. K.M. Weiland is the author of several best-selling writing books and novels. She strives to share her knowledge with aspiring authors by providing thoughtful articles on all aspects of developing a story.

9. Electric Literature

Electric Literature is a nonprofit with a mission “to amplify the power of storytelling with digital innovation, and to ensure that literature remains a vibrant presence in popular culture by supporting writers, embracing new technologies, and building community to broaden the audience for literature.” This blog, hosted by the popular blogging platform Medium, provides you with reviews, book news, interviews, essays, and writing advice.

10. The Write Life

At The Write Life, they know it can be scary trying to make a living doing what you love. Whether you’re trying to hone your craft, build your blog, or promote your book on your own, their goal is to make it less scary and more fun. On this blog, you will find writing, freelancing, marketing, blogging, and publishing advice.

11. Signature

At Signature, they are “making well-read sense of the world.” Run by Penguin Random House, the blog incorporates books, news, culture, and writing advice into one all-inclusive blog, helping people understand current issues and events through the lens of literature.

12. Book Riot

If you are looking for one blog to meet all of your diverse book review needs, Book Riot is it. This review blog employs a team of reviewers to cover works that will appeal to all tastes—all packaged in a gorgeously designed, easy-to-get-lost-in space. Explore by genre and diversify your reading tastes.

13. The Write Practice

The one-stop shop for writer resources, The Write Practice enjoys a huge readership, and for good reason. This blog is serious about providing writers at all skill levels with tutorials, resources, and articles designed to hone your writing and find your voice. It doesn’t matter what type of material or in what format you prefer to write; the information on this blog has you covered.

14. Jane Friedman

Jane Friedman has years of experience in the book industry and is a professor at the University of Virginia, where she teaches publishing. Her website’s blog provides great articles and resources for any author wanting to get published, traditionally or independently. With a large following, she provides her readers with advice, industry news, how-to articles, and inspirational pieces for writers at all stages of the publishing process.

15. The Millions

Hailed by The New York Times as “the indispensable literary site,” The Millions provides intelligent, thoughtful reviews of books and culture, making it one of the premier book review blogs on the Internet. With an archive that dates back to its founding in 2003, the site has something to pique any reader’s interest.

16. The New Yorker: Page-Turner

Page-Turner is The New Yorker‘s book blog, dedicated to discussions about everything from the publishing industry to writers’ culture. Articles on Page-Turner are thought-provoking, opinionated, and inspiring, with a focus on creativity and authenticity in regards to writing and authorship.

17. Quillblog

Published both online and in print format, Quill & Quire is a Canadian literary magazine that reviews hundreds of books each year. Its blog features interviews with both well-known and up-and-coming authors, industry news, and genre-specific articles and book reviews that are sure to entice any reader.

18. The Writing Cooperative

The Writing Cooperative is an entertaining and informative blog designed to help authors improve their writing. Their posts are crafted by a large community of writers, offering advice derived from their unique experiences.

If these book blogs have given you the inspiration you need to finish writing your own book, consider having it edited by the professionals at Scribendi.